Thomas Dudley
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Thomas Dudley (October 12, 1576–July 31, 1653) was a colonial magistrate who served several terms as governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
He was born in Northampton, England, the son of Capt. Roger Dudley and Susanna Thorne.[1] It is postulated that his family was a scion of the noble Dudley family, originally of Sutton, but the exact connection is still a subject of some contention. He was orphaned at the age of fourteen after his only living parent, his father, was killed at the Battle of Ivry. Thomas entered the service of several wealthy patrons, and was introduced to Puritanism in the late 1590s.
In the 30 years between his conversion and his eventual immigration with the Winthrop Fleet, Dudley served as steward to Theophilus, Earl of Lincoln, and apparently performed an exemplary job in solving the Earl's financial difficulties.
In 1629, with tension between the Puritans and the English government high, Dudley was chosen as one of the five officers to travel to the Americas under the Royal Charter. He was elected deputy governor; John Winthrop was elected governor. Travelling on the Arbella, the flagship of the Winthrop Fleet, Dudley arrived in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630. Perhaps due to his touchy nature, he clashed almost immediately with John Winthrop over the location of the seat of government of the new colony.
Dudley served as governor in 1634, 1640, 1645, and 1650. Throughout most of the other years of his time in Massachusetts, he served as deputy governor.
It was Dudley who signed the charter of Harvard College when he was Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Thomas Dudley married Dorothy Yorke in 1603, who died in 1643. He was remarried to Katherine Deighton the following year. His children include Rev. Samuel Dudley, Gov. Joseph Dudley and the poet Anne Bradstreet.
The ancestral Dudley castle is located at 52°30'50.89"N and 2° 4'47.62"W.
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[edit] Descendants of Thomas Dudley
Thomas Dudley was a descendant of the Sutton Dudley clan of England, descended from a daughter of King Edward I of England.
Descendants of his son Joseph Dudley married to Rebecca Tyng
Descendants of his daughter Anne Bradstreet married to Simon Bradstreet
- Elliot Richardson
- Jane Means Appleton
- Herbert Hoover
- David Souter
- Robert Edwin Seamount
- Benjamin Wade
- Wendell Phillips
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.
- William Ellery
- William Ellery Channing
- William Ellery Channing (1818–1901)
- William Henry Channing
- Francis Dana
- Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
- Elisha Williams
- Juliet Winters Carpenter
- Steve Young
- John Lithgow
Descendants of his daughter Mercy Dudley married to John Woodbridge
- Daniel Coit Gilman
- Sarah Orne Jewett
- Humphrey Bogart
- Robert E. Sherwood
- Tasker H. Bliss
- John Brown (abolitionist)
- Lowell P. Weicker, Jr.
- Irene Castle
- Elsie de Wolfe
- Tennessee Williams
- Edwin Arlington Robinson
- Frank Nelson Doubleday
Descendants of his daughter Patience Dudley married to Daniel Denison
Descendants of his son Samuel Dudley married to Mary Winthrop (son of John Winthrop)
- Source: New England Ancestors
- Source: Ancestors of John Kerry
[edit] Notes
[edit] External Links
official Massachusetts Governors biography
